Nuela Charles, alternative-soul powerhouse, who takes influence from the likes of Nina Simone and more, delivers a style of potent vocals amid sassy instrumentation and percussion. Kenya-born, Canada-based Nuela has been noted as “one to watch” by the legendary Soul Train, after she struck off 2018 with a JUNO Award Nomination for Contemporary Album of the Year with her sophomore effort “The Grand Hustle”.

Troublemaker is the second single from her forthcoming EP – set for release this October – and serves as a sharp return to the scene following the success of the second album. Co-produced by the duo Towers, “Troublemaker” arrives in hot pursuit of snappy first single of the EP ‘“Do It Right” – co-written and produced by Grammy Nominated Rob Kleiner (Andra Day, Sia, CeeLo Green) and released earlier this year.

“Troublemaker”, a sassy sophisticated number, is about a man who is nothing but trouble. The thickly layered composition reflects this with its stand-out brass parts and swingy percussion. With its grandiose glamour, the visual sets a Havana Nights-modern-day fusion of style; the director, Johl, said “We wanted to give it a Havana nights feel and showcase the diversity that is not only Nuela, but that is also rooted deep in her music.”

Here’s what Nuela had to say about the track:

“Troublemaker is one of those songs that just sort of flowed out. I had been writing with Edmonton-based Towers for a couple of weeks, and on an off day, they sent me this instrumental track they’d been working on. It had such a sassy vibe to it, all I could think was that it needed “attitude”, I had this big urge to just tell someone off! LOL, but not just anybody – that one dude who always, no matter how hard he tried to be good, got himself into trouble with the ladies. It’s all playful at first, but hazardous when left unchecked.

As with a lot of the new music coming out, we massaged this track a lot production-wise. I stepped into the driver’s seat and rearranged, tore apart and put the track back together until I felt like we’d really got the point across. I’m really excited to share my creative vision and to do it 100% on my own terms.”